Next-Gen Mercedes-Benz CLS Likely To Drop Shooting Brake

Although Mercedes-Benz’s CLS Shooting Brake was launched with great fanfare back in 2012, senior management in Stuttgart have reportedly quashed plans for a successor. The vehicle, essentially the station wagon cousin of the svelte CLS sedan, never made it to these shores, and a lack of interest in most other markets outside of Europe are said to be the reasons for the successor model’s demise.

According to CAR, Mercedes’ design team had completed proposals for both the next-generation CLS as well as a new Shooting Brake variant. However, slowing sales of luxury cars in China as well as ongoing struggles in markets such as Russia have required some cost-cutting measures, and it appears that a new CLS Shooting Brake was at the top of the bill. Another vehicle said to be nipped in the bud is a three-door version of the A-Class.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Given the popularity of sedans and SUVs in the United States and China, still the two biggest markets for luxury cars, Mercedes will be launching a new GLC Coupe based on the recently revealed GLC, and the Mercedes-AMG performance division is said to be working on a standalone sedan sharing its internals with the next CLS.